Unmanned test flight failed many times, Boeing carried out its first manned interstellar airliner mission in 2023

Beijing, August 26 (Xinhua) Boeing and NASA said that Boeing plans to launch its first "interstellar airliner" capsule mission carrying astronauts in February 2023, a costly and long-delayed mission that is now nearing its final stage.

▲ conducted its second unmanned test flight in May 2022

The Starliner spacecraft made its first unmanned test flight in 2019, but failed to enter its scheduled orbit due to software defects, so it was forced to return to Earth ahead of schedule. The planned second unmanned test flight was postponed in August 2021 due to a failure of the rocket propulsion system.

Boeing spent $93 million on a three-month test mission that led to a change in launch plans and engineering repairs. Since the test failed in 2019, the total cost of the spacecraft has reached $688 million.

The eight-day mission will send two NASA astronauts to the space station and return. If successful, the Starliner will receive NASA certification, and the capsule mission will become the second option for NASA to transport astronauts to and from the space station.

After the retirement of the US space shuttle in 2011, the United States has made great efforts to develop commercial manned spaceflight. Musk's SpaceExploration Technologies company also won a contract for the NASA manned spacecraft program, which was certified in 2020 to transport astronauts to the International Space Station via a manned version of the Dragon spacecraft.